Trineless
by Qwertzu824
Summary: It was unheard of... The thought was almost blasphemous: A Seeker youngling who wants to stay trineless. Starscream origin fic
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Standard disclaimers apply. If I owned Transformers, the story would go like this...

* * *

_And just as Primus gave me two wings to fly and two creators to raise me and teach me, he gave me two trinemates to protect and love, and with them, two more sparks to call my own._

_Ancient scrolls, Temple of Primus in Vos_

* * *

"Computer," Starscream addressed the semi-intelligent laboratory network, satisfied when the system beeped announcing its readiness to receive orders. He firmly refused the stupid habit of giving non sentient computers real-life designations. "Search: Scientific conference. Location limit: Outside Cybertron. Timeframe limit: Next lunar cycle." The system beeped again, acknowledging the task. Starscream changed a few samples and restarted the analyser.

"Three results found," the computer's voice reported. "Result one: Common Mating Habits of Carbon-based Organics. Location: asteroid Dre–"

"Next!" the Seeker interrupted. Who the Pit _cared_ about some disgusting organics and their probably even more disgusting mating habits?

"Result two," the computer continued, unfazed. "Extra-Linguistic Problems of Translating Religious Texts from and to the Language of Dokari. Location: planet Dokari. Timeframe–"

"Next!"

"Result three: The Future of Theoretical Physics. Location: moon of planet Taalon V. Timeframe: 258/36/87/1 to 371/36/85/3."

Ah, finally something bearable! "Perfect. Sign me in."

"Specify: As a visitor or as a lecturer?"

"As a visitor," the jet mumbled distractedly, leaning over a microscope.

"Unable to complete: Visitor capacity full."

Starscream's wings twitched in irritation. "Then sign me in as a lecturer!" he snapped. He _needed_ to get off planet, slag it!

"The topic of your discourse?" the computer demanded.

The Seeker racked his processor for something remotely interesting... "Quantum mechanics in a reversed hyperdrive," he decided.

"Your application has been submitted. Awaiting approval."

"Hn. Notify me when the answer comes."

"Acknowledged."

* * *

To Starscream's surprise it didn't even take long before the computer's dull voice informed him that his application had been approved. "Attached message: Thank you for your interest in our conference. I will be looking forward to hearing your discourse. Please contact me at your own convenience to arrange the details. Your travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed by the International Institute of Theoretical Physics. Best regards, Particle, Director of IITP. Message end. Answer?"

"No. Find me a flight from Iacon to the location of the conference two solar cycles prior to its beginning."

"Two results found. Result one: Flight RE5598 leaving from Iacon Spaceport II at 124-37. Estimated time of arrival: 894-63 Cybertronian time, e78fga local time. Result two-"

"Stop. Book a seat in the first flight." The young scientist stretched and fanned out his wings to ease the tension that was beginning to seep in. Slag it, he had been leaning over the stupid microscope for way too long. A check of his chronometer told him that he missed a recharge period and morning refuelling. Not an unusual occurrence when working on a project. As they say, time flies when you're having fun. A cursory glance at his energy levels filled his vision with long ignored warnings. He dismissed them with practiced ease.

"Passenger designation and model?"

"Starscream, Seeker." As if the stupid computer didn't already know that.

"Processing... Processing... Unable to complete."

"What? Never mind, book me a seat in the second flight."

"Repeat: Unable to complete. All trineless Seekers are prohibited to leave Cybertron during the Trining under the Act number Zz897c of the Vosian Council of Elders."

A blue fist smashed the computer console leaving a sizeable dent as the tricoloured jet cursed in Seekercant.

"_Carrier_," he growled.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I would like to thank everybot who followed and/or reviewed the story! Special thanks to HanamiKaze, shapphire-box, STARSCREAM RULEZ (yes, he does) and Crimson Hope for favouriting this story while it only had some 600 words. I will try my damned best not to disappoint you!_

_Unbeta'd. If you spot a mistake, please point it out to me! Seriously, I translate stuff into English for living. Typos I can live with but I am a grammar-nazi-in-training._

* * *

It took Skyfire a while to calm Starscream down. The first thing he did was coax him outside and get him in the air. Star may have been used to enclosed space of the lab but he was a Seeker and every sparkling knew that Seekers get all irritated and snappy when staying inside for too long. Knowing Star, and Skyfire thought he knew his lab partner well, he had spent the entire cycle working on his project. And probably skipped recharge. Again.

Flying worked like a charm every time. After a joor or three of breaking speed limits Star did look a bit calmer but the shuttle was beginning to worry when instead of a long enraged rant he was met with silence. Skyfire gently convinced him to land on a rooftop and have some energon – having suspected that Star would miss refuelling the larger scientist subspaced a ration for his friend.

Finally, unable to bear the silence, Skyfire had to ask: "How is the project going?" Expecting an outburst he instinctively cowered.

Much to his surprise, however, Starscream only flicked his wings in an equivalent of a shrug. "As planned. I have managed to isolate four out of five elements. It should be finished in a decaorn or so."

"Then what did the poor computer do to deserve your wrath?" he asked cautiously.

Star's wings quivered as he averted his optics to look at the horizon and immerse himself in silence again, causing Skyfire to fight increasing panic. He knew how to handle enraged Starscream, especially because enraged Starscream was rather loud about what annoyed him. Let it be said that enraged Starscream was nothing unusual. Now _silent Starscream_ was a different story altogether.

Unexpectedly, the jet spoke: "It's almost Trining time for Seekers."

Knowing how Star hated to explain himself, Skyfire quickly referenced the global information network. Apparently, Trining was a time of vorn when young Seekers hunted for their potential trinemates. Hmm, why would it upset Starscream so?

"You want to go but you don't want to leave your projects behind?" he tried guessing. Judging by the slow piercing glare he received in return, it was a wrong thing to say.

"I _don't_ want to go!" the Seeker snarled, putting emphasis on the negation. "The slaggers won't let me leave Cybertron! Aaarggh, would you believe it? That's a blatant restriction of personal freedom! Frag the entire thrice-damned trinemate hunt to Pit!"

_Ah, thank Primus, enraged Starscream was back._ "Star, please. You're not making any sense. Who won't let you leave Cybertron and why?" he asked softly.

Much to his friend's relief, Starscream started pacing. Enraged Star liked to pace a lot; he was more prone to listen to reason while striding to and fro. Granted, you had to wait until he slows down, which could take joors. Right now the fastest Seeker ever created was nothing but a red and white blur with some hints of blue. How could it not affect his ability to talk at a normal speed, Skyfire would never know.

"The only valid excuse for a trineless Seeker to miss the Trining is to be off planet. That or deep stasis," he heaved a dramatic sigh through his vents and made a sharp turn on his heel. "For the last ten vorns I made sure to attend scientific conferences nowhere near our galaxy." Come to think of it, that certainly explained Star's sudden interest in valence of nouns, Vogon poetry or _exotic gardening_, of all things... "Now it seems that my creators' patience finally snapped and they convinced the Council to pass a law which prohibits it; no trineless Seeker is allowed to leave the planet during the damned Trining. _Frag it!_"

"Erh, what's wrong with Trining? Don't you want to find yourself a pair of trinemates?"

"_No!_" the jet snapped resolutely.

_Uh-oh, curt Starscream. Not good._ "Why not? I thought Seekers were programmed to work in trines..."

Starscream heaved an exasperated sigh though his vents. The truth was he always had a bunch of excuses ready in answer to that question, depending on who was asking: that he was too young, he didn't feel ready for such commitment yet, the bot(s) he secretly hoped to trine up with ended up with somebody else and he was still trying to get over it, he wanted to get to know his trinemates before the protocols kick in and override any semblance of control, he was still waiting for the proverbial flutter in his spark... and slag like that. But looking at the big goof with honest optics who couldn't hurt a scraplet Starscream decided to tell him the truth.

"I have my life, you know. I have my studies, my research, my scientific career and my independence. I like to lock myself in the lab and forget about the rest of the world when I work and I like it that way, thank you very much. _Trinemates_," he almost spat the word out, "are worse than sparklings, constantly demanding your attention – and they get _jealous_ when you ignore them! How could I work if I had two idiots nagging at me over the trinebond? They might just expect me to give up my career for them! _As if! _Oh, and did I mention that trinebonds are _for life?_ You can't just break up with them when they're being glitch-heads as if they were your lovers. No, you will be stuck with two hindrances until you deactivate! Or until _they_ deactivate, which doesn't made a difference anyway because if one goes, the other two will follow. _And you're asking me why I don't want trinemates?_" he yelled the last words right into the stunned Skyfire's faceplates. Still, the shuttle's energy field was an ocean of calmness, it soothed some of his anger. Cutting off his thrusters Starscream resumed pacing at an insane speed.

"In about 8% of cases Seekers don't find compatible trinemates during the hunt," Skyfire said in that infuriatingly calm voice of his, probably reading it from the information network. "Can't you just go and pretend to-"

"No," Starscream interrupted him. _If only life was that easy._ "It doesn't work that way. Trinemate hunting subroutines are hard-coded in every Seeker. Once they activate you have no chance to control them."

"In almost 3% of cases the trines formed during the Trining break up before they could become permanent. How about that?"

"Are you suggesting that I dump my trinemates?" he demanded incredulously.

"Well... yes? Wouldn't it solve your problem? You could tell your creators that you did find a pair of trinemates but then you would break up with them because they weren't _the ones_."

_He's not a Seeker. He doesn't know,_ Starscream reminded himself. Several times. What the big glitch suggested was _WRONG_ on so many levels Starscream couldn't even begin to count them. _No._ Just... _no._

"I am a trine leader," he tried to explain, wishing he could somehow convey the cultural concept behind those simple words. "I can't do that!"

Skyfire thought about it. "Then why do some trines break up anyway?"

"The Wings can dump the Leader before bonding. It is their right." Every sparkling knew that. It felt weird to explain something so basic to an adult, especially one as intelligent and educated as Skyfire.

"But the Leader can't?"

Starscream nodded. "That's right."

"Don't you find it unfair?" the mostly white shuttle wondered aloud.

"No." Why should he find it unfair? It was a Leader's responsibility to protect his Wings, care for them and provide them with everything they need. Initiating a break-up would be against the Leader's programming. However, if the Leader proves to be unworthy, the Wings can leave him. What's unfair about it?

"O-kay..." Skyfire evidently wasn't expecting such answer but accepted it, probably deciding to do some research on the topic later. "And what if you were your most insufferable self, causing them to break up with you?"

"You really have no idea what you're saying, do you?" Starscream facepalmed. "I would rather be excused from the Trining for being in stasis than be proclaimed an unworthy trine leader!"

The shuttle-former held out his servos placatingly. "Sorry," his tone suggested he had no idea what he was apologizing for but the Seeker appreciated the gesture. "I suppose pretending to be a Wing and dumping another Leader is out of question as well."

Starscream froze mid-pace.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Energon goodies to everybot who followed, faved or reviewed this story! *Turning to a happy mush* Copper sticks to Klicks for noticing the Vogon poetry reference and to STARSCREAM RULEZ in apology for the misspelled designation._

_And now, ladies and gentlemechs, Skywarp!_

* * *

The black and purple Seeker raised an empty cube indicating he wanted another drink. The bartender checked out his wings; this one was trineless.

"Shouldn't you be saving your energy for tomorrow?" he asked with a mild reproach as he mixed the dark Seeker's drink of choice.

"Nah," the visitor sighed, "jus' trying to prepare myself for the disappointment."

Like all bartenders, Refill too had some basic education in psychology. Long forgotten protocols screamed at him to cheer the depressed flier up.

"Hey, why the long face? Primus created a perfect pair of trinemates just for you. Maybe you'll meet them tomorrow."

"Not gonna happen," the flier muttered before hiding his face in his palms.

Refill sent a quick comm. to his apprentice, leaving her in charge of the bar. This one obviously needed some counselling.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Imma teleporter," the Seeker announced, watching Refill clean his instruments with his lower servos while mixing a high-grade drink that was too difficult for his apprentice with the upper pair.

"From what I know about Seekers, that makes you a valuable catch," the bartender offered.

"Yea," the night coloured wings drooped. "If only somebot could catch me..."

"They can't?"

"Nuh-uh. There's a point to the trining hunt, ya know. If you're a Wing – cos' that's what I am, a left Wing – ya gotta flee and the trine leaders gotta chase after you. An' the one who's worthy of you, the fastest or smartest one, who can keep up with you, will catch ya an' fight off other Leaders who might want to steal ya. Or he can simply win you in a fight if he's strong enough." Red optics dimmed in sadness. "No one ever fought over me. No one could catch up. _Slag it_, every vorn I am tempted to just _let them_," he took a long draught of his purplish drink and slammed the cube on the counter. "But it feels wrong, ya see. To lower my standards, I mean. The trine is something special and it's forever an' you only get one try at it. If ya screw up, you screw up _big time_. I don't wanna no trine where I fake to be happy with my trinemates... Only sometimes I do. Sometimes I think that any trine is better than having no trine at all..."

"Winglet, aren't you a bit too young to be talking like an old mech?"

The Seeker downed the rest of his cube and heaved a pathetic sigh. "I do feel like an old mech. Am tired of being alone."

"Hmmm. Maybe... Look, winglet, if no one can keep up with you, maybe you should do the chasing."

The black and purple wings twitched as the stunned flier jerked his helm up. "Who, _me?_ Do I _look_ like a trine leader material to you?" he asked incredulously.

"Let's see..." Refill grabbed a random datapad with a free servo and pretended to study its content. "A pair of thrusters?" he peaked over the bar counter. "Check. Two pedes? Check. Torso with cockpit?" A quick glance at the Seeker. "Check. Two servos? Check. A helm?" Another quick look. "Check. Aaaand wings – check. Yep, you _do_ look like a trine leader material to me." He felt a wave of satisfaction when the young Seeker burst out laughing. Granted, it was a slightly overcharged giggle but the jet did lighten up and that was what mattered.

"I'm no trine leader," Skywarp admitted self-critically. "I'm prob'ly the most immature and irresponsible adult you've ever met. I couldn't arrive on time if my life depended on it, my boss is threatening to fire me if I'm late with another report, I only pay my bills after the third dunning letter... Nah, I can barely take care of myself, how could I take care of two other mechs?"

The bartender shrugged. Considering he had _four_ servos to do so, it was a pretty impressive sight. "Who knows? Maybe that's how Primus wants you to learn responsibility. Having two trinemates to care of would force you to mature, whether you like it or you don't."

Skywarp tried to answer but he couldn't find the words. He wanted to shrug it off – _Skywarp the trine leader, yeah right... How ridiculous!_ – but something compelled him to think about it. What if the bartender was right? What if no one ever caught up to him because they weren't meant to? What if Skywarp got to choose his trinemates instead of being chosen? Had he been waiting for somebot who would never come? Sure, he didn't feel up to it... but anything was better than staying alone!

Lost in thought he completely forgot about the world. He only snapped out of it joors later when the bartender waved a servo in front of his face and told him the club was closing.

'Warp didn't recharge that night.

* * *

_To be continued. Reviews are appreciated and loved. I'm going on a short holiday, so expect no update next week. Happy Easter :-)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Guess who's back from holiday :-) To all you Italians out there, you have a beautiful country!_  
_As usual, energon goodies for everybot who made my day by reviewing, following or favouriting this story. Rust sticks to Crimson Hope for the shortest and most spark melting review I have ever received._

* * *

Vos. The City of Spires had no streets for walking. What would fliers need them for, anyway? (Grounders, you say? What grounders? We don't want ground-pounders in our beautiful city! Especially not during the Trining.)

Every balcony and landing platform below the rooftop level was covered with curious sparklings wriggling in their creators' loving servos, excited younglings who weren't old enough to participate just yet, but also with those who proudly wore the symbol of their trine on their wings. All traffic was stopped. The air belonged to Wings who were gathering above the east end of the city (if they were left Wings) or the west end (right Wings). Rooftops and landing platforms above them were occupied by future trine leaders.

In front of the Temple of Primus there were two large ceremonial bowls, placed on high pillars for the world to see. Both were translucent; one filled with ice, the other with slow-burning oil. Hungry flames were eating away the substance while their heat melted the ice cubes. When the last cube turned to water and the last flame flickered and died down (the Temple hired specialized engineers to ensure this happened at the exact same moment), a priest would deliver a long boring speech and then, finally, the trining hunt would begin. The bowls represented harmony and balance – most important factors in a trine. After all, an ideal trine was a balanced mix of tempers, personalities and special abilities. Talking about tempers, many a hopeful trinemates-seeker, no pun intended, had their patience stretched to limit waiting for the hunt to start.

Thundercracker stood on a rooftop, resigned. Something was telling him that this vorn would be different but he didn't bother listening. Too many vorns have passed and he was still alone. _Why, Primus?_ Why couldn't he find his trinemates? He was responsible and caring. He was loyal. He was everything Wings valued in a Leader. So _why?_

"Heya, Cracker!"

The blue Seeker turned around and smiled, probably for the first time in orns. "Storm? Haven't seen you in a centivorn, how are you doing?" he asked, rubbing Thunderstorm's wing in greeting. His former co-worker and friend beamed in happiness as he returned the gesture. Only then did Thundercracker notice a bright violet and yellow sparkling peaking from behind Storm's dark violet pedes. "Oh, hello there, little one."

The sparkling hid behind his creator shyly. The blue jet felt his spark melting.

"Mist, say hello to Thundercracker."

"Hi," Mist greeted him obediently. "Carrier, he has 'thunder' is his name just like you!"

"Yes, he does," Thunderstorm confirmed with a proud and loving smile. "Isn't he _adorable_, Cracker?"

"Nuh-uh, I'm not a door bell!" the Seekerlet protested, causing both adults to chuckle.

"Not 'a door bell', little one. Adorable. Your carrier says that you are a very nice and bright sparkling," the blue jet told him, going down on one knee to be on the same level as Mist. (Well, almost. Even kneeling he was bigger than the tiny winglet.)

"You don't have _thingies_ on your wings," Mist observed tilting his helm curiously.

"Thingies?"

"He means the mark of your trine," Thunderstorm explained and turned to his creation. "Cracker doesn't have trinemates yet, you know? That's why he came here today – to find them."

"Ah," the Seekerlet nodded seriously and looked up at him again. "Do you know why there are only two thingies on one's wings even though 'trine' means 'three'?" he held up three tiny fingers.

Of course Thundercracker knew but it was obvious the little one wanted to tell him. "Why?" he asked, humouring the winglet.

"Well, for one thing, you only have two wings. And two trinemates. But if you imagine a triangle going from the thingies up, on the top of that triangle there's your spark!" Mist informed him proudly, preening at the praise he received in return.

"That's right, sweetspark," his creator petted the small yellow helm, "but now we have to go. The ice almost melted. It was nice seeing you again, Cracker. Comm. me when you have time, we have to catch up! And now shoo, get your aft up there! If you stay here you'll be taken for a trine leader."

Thundercracker felt his smile freeze up. "Storm, I _am_ a trine leader."

It was Thunderstorm's smile that froze up next. They stared at each other in silence. The violet Seeker snapped out of it first. "Sorry to break it to you, Cracker, but you're not. You would make a wonderful right Wing but you're not aggressive enough to be a Leader."

"But... both my creators are trine leaders. And so are my brothers!"

The violet Seeker shook his helm. "That doesn't mean that you're one too, Cracker. My bondmate's creators are both left Wings and he's a Leader. I am a left Wing myself and though it's hard to tell yet, our sparklet is probably going to be a right Wing when he grows up." Storm picked his sparkling up and cradled him against his cockpit. "Look, just follow your spark. That's the only right thing to do. Gotta go, my mate is calling us. Good luck, Cracker. And don't worry, you'll find them!"

"Bai bai, Cracker. Hope you'll find your trinemates and get pretty thingies on your wings!" Mist waved at him.

Stunned and speechless, Thundercracker could only wave back.

* * *

The ice melted.

Every conversation hushed as a surprisingly young priest stepped forward, followed by two other Seekers. He looked around and smiled, then noticed the camera which would be streaming his words for those who weren't close enough to hear them and smiled at it too.

"It wasn't long ago that I hovered up there among the right Wings waiting for one of my mentors to finish his wise and inspirational speech. But on and on he went, talking about the importance of trine, about the qualities of a good Leader and what is expected of Wings and so on and so forth for almost half an eternity. And I promised myself back then that should I ever be granted the honour of delivering a Trining speech, I would keep it mercifully short." This proclamation was met with a soft, muted cheer and grateful flicks of wings. "These two glitches," he indicated the two Seekers standing behind him, "are my trinemates. Most of the time they are immature, insufferable and obnoxious, and frankly, we drive each other crazy." Almost everybot did a double take – talking like that about one's own trinemates was unheard of! The priest was supposed to give a nice speech about how wonderful it was to be a part of a trine, not openly criticise them! The camera took in the indignant expressions of the said trinemates. They appeared too shocked to say a word.

"But you know what?" the young jet continued, as if unaware of the stares he was receiving. "I wouldn't change them for _anything_. I would gladly give up my life for them. They may be glitches but they are _my_ glitches – mine to protect and mine to love. Does that make me a glitch too? As long as I have these two I don't care. Today I will be praying to our Lord Creator that you may find a match as _perfect_ as I found in my trinemates. May Primus guide your flight. Let the hunt begin!"

Thundercracker willed his wings to stop trembling as he hovered among the right Wings, hoping this was a good idea.

Skywarp forced his servos to stop shaking as he stood among the trine leaders, praying this was a good idea.

Starscream wished his spark would stop its mad fluttering as he hovered among the left Wings, failing to convince himself this was a good idea.

But it was too late to change anything. The hunt began.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Hello there, missed me? :) Back from Paris and totally in love with the city! The usual energon goodies to all of you and an oil cake to AStallingStudent because, trust me, I know how that feels! (6 vorns ago: Night before an exam. Me, empty room, Introduction to Literature and my roommate's fifth volume of Harry Potter. I hadn't even read the first four books but I guess you can see where this is going... I still have no idea what miracle made me pass the exam)_

* * *

All right Wings rose up in the sky and flew over the trine leaders' heads following a flight pattern as old as Seekerkin itself. They did their best to show off, luring the Leaders with their speed, acrobatics, special abilities or simply shiny paintjobs. A few exceptions, Thundercracker among them, decided to impress their potential trinemates by _not_ acting as immature sparklings and flew steadily with silent grace.

All of a sudden, one Seeker separated from the group and landed in front of a trine leader. Optics shining with joy, the Leader caught him by the wings, symbolically ending the hunt by successfully capturing his trinemate. A wave of good-natured envy rippled through the on-lookers. _Lucky glitches._ It was rare but sometimes it happened that a Seeker felt a tug in his spark so strong that it almost overrode everything else. Such tug would lead you to your trinemates; it was said the moment you looked them in the optics you would _know_ that no hunt was necessary. Everybot secretly wished to experience it.

Once the right Wings completed their flight and returned to their original positions it was time for the left Wings to shine. They pretty much copied the right Wings, most of them showing off, some merely flying. Thundercracker watched them with keen interest until a tri-coloured blur of vaguely Seeker-like shape caught his attention. Impressed, he had to admit he couldn't remember ever seeing anybot move that fast. The Wing in question completed his flight in a record time and hovered in the air waiting for the rest with his servos crossed and an unfriendly expression on his young faceplate. Naturally he caught attention of many; then again, many felt discouraged by his scowl. Thundercracker didn't share their attitude. Sure, the young Wing was evidently in a bad mood but hey, what were trinemates for? What Thundercracker wouldn't give to be able to cheer him up...!

The world held its vents as the last left Wing returned. There was a moment of intense silence, sparked with anticipation, before the Wings suddenly scattered. The trine leaders rose up to capture them. The chase was on.

Trinemate hunting protocols kicking in, Thundercracker flew as fast as he could, surprised how natural it felt _not_ to pursue. Perhaps he was a Wing after all... He dared a quick look over his shoulder. Three Leaders were hot on his thrusters, keen on capturing him. He frowned. His protocols vehemently protested against the green one, rebelled against the thought of the red Seeker but deemed the grey one compatible. Still, Thundercracker was somewhat disappointed that he didn't feel the tug that would tell him _this_ was his Leader. He decided to shake them off. The green one got the hint and went hunting elsewhere; however, the other two appeared adamant. Thundercracker turned around and seethed at them; they let him be with a disappointed frown. Now that he was on his own again he looked around, surprised to find that several Seekers stopped in their flight to stare at something. Following their gaze he instantly noticed what caught their attention. The wonderfully fast tricoloured Wing was successfully mocking anybot who attempted to get him. Well, no surprise there, though the youngling didn't care to slow down for anybot. Wasn't he aware that this way he would stay trineless? Suddenly a black and purple Seeker appeared _out of nowhere_ right in front of him and almost succeeded! Startled but quick as lighting, the Wing ducked the grabbing servos and fled to safety at an insane speed. The dark Leader disappeared. Thundercracker stared with his jaw hanging. _What a chase!_

Tingles in his wings alerted Thundercracker that somebot was trying to sneak up on him. Whirling around, he snarled angrily at a yellow Seeker. The mech held up his servos in a placating manner and backed off. With a growl Thundercracker returned to watching the spectacular chase. Or at least he tried to. Slag it, he couldn't see them anywhere! Life just wasn't fair. The two most alluring trineless Seekers are going to end up as trinemates, depriving the rest of trineless Seekerkin of their impressive skills. There should be a law against such things... Lucky glitch who ends up as their third. Thundercracker's mood was ruined for good.

* * *

Starscream cursed through his denta. The damned dark Seeker was one persistent aft. Not that he wasn't impressed to see a teleporter, or flattered by his interest, but slag it, Starscream was determined to avoid any possible trinemates. It was surprisingly easy to remain in control because his sub-routines were demanding that he stop fleeing and start chasing like the trine leader he was. Given that he actively resisted them, they didn't really get a chance to manifest in full. He looked around. Had he gotten rid of his tenacious pursuer? Starscream didn't think so, even though he didn't see the teleporter anywhere at the moment. He tensed, waiting. There was a _pop_, a flash of violet light and the wannabe trine leader materialised in front of him. Starscream growled aggressively, he'd had it! If the afthead couldn't get a hint that he wasn't welcome, maybe fists would get Starscream's message through.

Neither of them would remember what exactly happened after that very clearly. At that moment a thought flashed through Skywarp's processor: '_How I wish you would be the one chasing me, not the other way round..._' And _something_ – the look in his optics? A flick of his wings? An unconscious gesture? A shift in his EM field? _Something_ made Starscream catch the vibe of it. His optics brightened in shock. Here he was, a trine leader pretending to be a Wing getting chased by a Wing pretending to be a Leader? What were the odds of _that_ happening? '_The Universe sure has a fragged up sense of humour..._' That was his last coherent thought before his suppressed protocols took over and overrode any semblance of control he was meticulously trying to build. A sound left his vocalizer, an ancient trill of challenge older than Seekercant. A wordless call of a trine leader which would be understood by every winglet, no matter how young, as '_flee or fight me because I'm going to claim what's mine._'

Skywarp fled.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I love you all, you do know that, right? Energon goodies for all and tungsten chips to Klicks for the constructive review.

* * *

_What is 'flying'?_

"_It's what Seekers do! They move in the air. Well, grounders can do it too if they have a jetpack..."_

- Jazz, a 42 vorns old sparkling from Kaon

"_The action of moving through the air out of one's own volition. It can be done by engaging your own flight protocols if you are a flier, or by manipulating an external machine, such as transport shuttle... Am I mistaken? Why are you looking at me like that?"_

- Prowl, a 51 vorns old sparkling from Praxus (please note that little Prowl has one of Cybertron's most advanced logic centres)

"_My most favourite thing in the world!"_

- Dirge, a 49 vorns old Seekerlet from Vos

_Sparklings around the World, a regular column in Iacon Times_

* * *

Flying. Nothing compares to the joy of flying. Feeling the wind rush past your wings, brush against your sensors, letting yourself flow with the air current or racing against it... Flying is bliss. Grounders often wonder if it doesn't get trivial after centivorns – the answer is _**no**__._ Not for Seekers, who were programmed to fly, programmed to enjoy it every single time even if they lived eternally. The reason why winglets aren't allowed to fly unsupervised? Not lack of experience but the fact that without a responsible adult forcing them to land they would fly until their energy levels depleted and fall off the sky. Skywarp was no exception when he was a sparkling. He wanted to smile at the brief memory but he was too busy escaping a Leader who was probably one of the fastest Seekers in the history. Skywarp wasn't very fast and he knew it. Other younglings used to make fun of him before he discovered he could teleport. But what he lacked in speed he made up for with cunning.

Just as the trine leader smirked in victory and reached to grab him, the dark Seeker warped out of his sight. He reappeared high above the tricoloured Leader and flew in a random direction. It usually took them a while to look up. This one was good, Skywarp had to admit. He barely took half the time to notice. Skywarp's trining protocols purred in satisfaction, chances were this was finally a worthy Leader! Not that Skywarp was going to go easy on him because of it, quite the contrary. The Leader was quickly approaching, closing the gap between them. A flash of violet light and Skywarp was gone. He warped deep under his pursuer and slightly to the right. _Ha, take that!_

Starscream grinned. Being the fastest, he never imagined he would have to actually work to capture somebody. This was fun. He quickly found out several things: One, the speed of his Wing was pretty average and the dark Seeker was relying on his teleportation abilities way too much. They would have to work on that once they trine up. (A part that was Starscream the Forever Trineless Scientist yelled _what!?_ A part that was Starscream the Trine Leader told it to _shut the slag up_ and raised a firewall between them). Two, the deliberate extreme changes in altitude were quite fuel consuming and meant to tire him out. Starscream had to give him that, it was working. Three, his Wing's warping was completely random. At first Starscream tried to calculate probabilities of him warping in a particular direction but the teleporter followed no pattern. Discarding logic, albeit reluctantly, Starscream gave in to instincts. If this was truly his Wing they were compatible in more than one way. He tried to imagine himself as the fleeing Wing – a teleporter trying to shake off a Seeker who was notably faster, using randomness as the element of surprise... In the end, it all came down to two basic questions: _where_ he was going to teleport and _when_ he was going to teleport. Against his better judgement, Starscream offlined his optics. He concentrated on his Wing's energy signature. _There!_ There was ripple in the dark Wing's EM field before he teleported! _Just you wait... I'll get you, Warper!_

* * *

Thundercracker watched, mesmerized. He thought he lost them for good but quite a few helms turned at the sound of the ancient Trine Leader's Challenge. Shockingly, it was the _Wing_ who challenged the _Leader_. Even more shockingly, the Leader(?) accepted. Thundercracker shrugged it off, it was probably a case of mistaken trine position, much like his own. Rare, but stranger things had happened during Trinings. But what a beautiful chase ensued! Pit, Thundercracker would _pay_ to watch this! He completely ignored two trined-up rainmakers who were trying to catch his attention. Thundercracker, as his designation and colour-coding suggested, was a rainmaker himself – a simple modification and he would be able to create lightning bolts. Having acid rain resistant plating was nice, only he had never been attracted to storms in the first place – and that wasn't going to change with the storm the rainmaker pair was creating to lure him. The blue Seeker hoped for their sake that their display of aptitude would attract another rainmaker Wing. The sad part was that they were compatible with Thundercracker as trinemates, both of them. Yet he felt compelled to watch the tricoloured Leader chase his teleporting Wing, even though he knew he would regret it afterwards. It didn't matter now.

He saw through the teleporter's strategy – make the fast Seeker fly up and down. Fast fliers usually tired fairly quickly, lacking endurance. Of course, tired flier equalled slow flier and the slower he got the less the Wing had to warp around. The Leader seemed to realise this too. _Must be frustrating,_ Thundercracker mused. Or maybe not. For some unfathomable reason the trine leader seemed to be enjoying himself, if the grin on his young face plate was anything to go by. Thundercraker could see their EM fields synching and knew that the chase was reaching its peak. (As was the storm created by the rainmakers especially for him but he still couldn't bring himself to care). The pursuing Leader suddenly dodged sharply to the right - astroclicks _before_ the Wing teleported and indeed reappeared on the right. _Not bad._ The youngling redirected all power to his thrusters and _almost_ made it - but once again, the Wing eluded him. Yet the Leader was getting better at estimating the next warp direction and the distance between the two was steadily decreasing with each warp. Thundercracker didn't even realise he forgot to vent. The Leader's final jump was beautiful. Blue servos caught the night wings before the dark Seeker could disappear on him again. The Wing now had a choice to give in or fight.

Thundercracker didn't stop to watch the outcome. It was obvious the two were perfect for each other. He suddenly lost any motivation to stay and look for trinemates of his own after a display like that. Depressed and frustrated, he rose up high above the city, where it was safe for him to do so, and let it all out, firing sonic boom after sonic boom until his energy levels dropped to the point where warnings began to pop up in his HUD.

Feeling utterly empty, the blue rainmaker did a sad round of honour around the Trining area and headed home. _Maybe next time...?_ Hope was a terrible thing. It always died last but when it finally did, it died in pain. Maybe there was something wrong with Thundercracker and that's why was still trineless. Or maybe he just wasn't worthy...

"Where do you think you're going?" a young voice demanded.

He whirled around, only to find the teleporter and the tricoloured Leader hovering in front of him.

"What do you want?" Thundercracker growled. Why would a perfect pair like that bother catching up with somebot like him? Did they come to mock him for being still trineless in his age? Wouldn't be the first time...

The trine leader looked at him with a raised optic ridge. "I would say it's pretty obvious but maybe that's just me being overly intelligent," the incredibly fast Seeker mused sarcastically. "As you might have noticed, we're in the second half of the trining hunt. We are a trined-up pair looking for our third. You are a trineless right Wing. What, pray tell, do you think we want from you? Energon goodies?"

Thundercracker snarled as his fist connected with the Leader's face. He was furious. Partly because of the youngling's rudeness, partly because he realized he had now certainly discouraged _the perfect pair of trinemates_ with his snarky attitude. Thundercracker was angry, physically and emotionally drained, hungry and depressed and he _really_ wanted to go home.

Punch after punch fell on the Leader's plating yet the young Seeker didn't retaliate. He didn't even dodge, he just hovered there and let Thundercracker use him as a punching bag. There were two ways a Leader could prove his worth to a reluctant Wing. One of them was to beat the Wing into submission to show his strength – Seekers were, after all, a warrior race. The other, the one Starscream chose, was to endure any abuse the Wing would throw his way to show that he would never let any harm befall his trinemates. Starscream would _never_ hurt his Wings, not even to prove his strength.

"Are you finished?" he asked stoically when the rainmaker finally stopped.

Thundercracker nodded and bowed his helm, fully expecting to be punched in return. He almost fell off the sky when the Leader caught him by the wings instead.

He had to restart his vocalizer several times. "But... But... Why would you...?" Words were failing him.

"We want you as our Wing," the trine leader explained patiently. "Those sonic booms of yours are quite impressive."

"Yeah, you were pretty amazing!" the teleporter jumped in, startling Thundercracker. He'd almost forgotten about him. "I'm Skywarp, by the way – you can call me Sky or Warp, I don't really care."

"Thundercracker."

"Hm. Fitting. I'm Starscream. Are we going to hover here all day?"

_Well, nobot could accuse Starscream of being patient..._

"Lead the way," Skywarp grinned.

Starscream's trining protocols purred with joy as he led his potential trinemates out of the city.

'_But you don't _want_ trinemates,_' his processor reminded him.

He dismissed the notice with a resolute command to '_shut the slag up!_'


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Energon goodies for all of you and manganese icecream to Nightlightbee and zantsu for making me smile like a lunatic..._

* * *

Flying in various formations was a basic skill taught to every Seekerlet, Starscream was no exception. But never in his life had Starscream lead wingmates who would follow him as flawlessly as Skywarp and Thundercracker. His every turn, every change of altitude, every unpredictable stunt was impeccably copied. It was as if they were reading his thoughts. Even a tiny flick of wing which could mean hundred things was understood and interpreted correctly. Starscream revelled in the feeling.

They flew until their energy levels dropped into red numbers. Thankfully there were many shelters built specifically for tired trines in the forest surrounding Vos. They found an unoccupied shelter, refuelled and fell into a deep, satisfying recharge.

Starscream onlined feeling peaceful. Thundercracker and Skywarp were already up, evidently talking over a private comm. line. They didn't notice him. He took the opportunity to scrutinise them and subject his feelings to a ruthless analysis.

**Starting point:** Just several orns ago he hadn't wanted to even hear about trinemates, determined to return to Iacon without them.  
**Current situation:** He wasn't so sure about it anymore.  
**Hypothesis:** It was due to the trining protocols.  
**Contradiction:** His trining protocols were no longer active.  
**Facts in favour of trinemates:** Surprisingly, he enjoyed their company. Flying with them was exceptionally pleasant. They appeared loyal and caring.  
**Facts against trinemates:** He was very fond of his lab and didn't want to give it up. He had lived for his scientific career. He still found his research important and fulfilling.  
**Query:** How much did he want trinemates?

(His processor took a while to come up with an answer)

**Result:** Surprisingly, the ratio was 60:40 in favour of trinemates.

Even thinking about giving up his life in Iacon only lowered it to 50:50. Starscream didn't know what to do. Give up his career or give up his trinemates before it was too late? Both sounded terrible. Aaargh, he should have stayed in Iacon, he wouldn't have to deal with this mess at all. He should have gotten himself knocked into stasis and miss his transport to Vos. He should have-

"Star? Whatcha thinkin' about?" Skywarp's question pulled him out of his reverie.

"We need to talk."

::_I don't like the sound of that_:: Skywarp sent to Thundercracker over their private chat. The blue jet flexed his wing in agreement.

'Tell them,' Starscream's processor suggested, still in the analysis mode. 'Let _them_ make the decision.' _Yeah, let them leave me instead..._

"I... I'm a scientist," he admitted, refusing to look at them. He vividly remembered his creators' disappointed faces when he announced his career path and he certainly didn't want to see that expression on his potential trinemates' faceplates. Starscream steeled himself for their reactions.

He honestly thought he was prepared for everything. Nevertheless, no analysis would have prepared him for Skywarp's utterly unpredictable exclamation.

"Really? A scientist? _Wow!_ I mean, I knew you were smart but not _that_ smart! That's _awesome!_"

Starscream reset his audios and commanded his memory centre to replay that. No, he wasn't hearing things. Skywarp was... enthusiastic about it.

"Which field do you study?" Thundercracker asked calmly, approving.

It didn't happen often that Starscream was rendered speechless. He quickly caught himself and restarted his vocalizer. "Physics. I study nuclear physics at the University of Iacon at the moment."

"Must be hard," the teleporter mused.

The young trine leader shook his helm. "Actually, it's fun."

"What!? How can _physics_ be fun?" Skywarp looked at Thundercracker for support but the blue jet just shrugged neutrally.

"It's certainly more fun than medicine," Starscream elaborated.

"How can you know?" the rainmaker wondered aloud. "Have you studied medicine?"

The tricoloured Seeker puffed out. "I'll have you know that I have studied almost everything you can think of. And yes, I studied medicine in Tarn but I found out that I have no patience for whiny mechs, so I quit after two vorns."

"Engineering!" Skywarp exclaimed.

"What about it?"

"Have you studied engineering? You said anything we could think of!"

An amused smile lit up his faceplates. "Yes, I studied both software and mechanical engineering."

"Geology!"

"Kaon University."

"Chemistry!"

"I studied chemistry in Praxus and I am currently conducting a research for the University of Iacon."

"I thought you were studying nuclear physics in Iacon," Thundercracker jumped in.

"Yes," Starscream confirmed.

The rainmaker wasn't buying it. "You're telling us that you have studied _physics, medicine, engineering, geology _and _chemistry_?"

Starscream suddenly felt as if somebot dropped a bucket of coolant on him. How could he have forgotten? In Seeker culture education was a useless waste of time, not something to be proud of. He looked away again, he knew where this was going. Still, he soldiered on. They deserved to know the truth.

"That and communication networks, languages, military strategy, architecture, religion, history, law and programming."

The blue jet shook his helm. "No offence, Starscream, but you would have to be ten times your age to study all that."

He hung his helm in shame. "I usually study at two or three universities at the time." The disbelieving silence that followed was _loud_. Starscream felt a pressing need to break it, so he blurted out: "I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I... I was playing with a string of code and accidentally hacked into Kaon University's database. I downloaded some reading material for students of theoretical physics. I spent my orns hooked to the information network trying to understand what all those long words meant. When I did, I signed up for a long-distance study. It was fun and everything but I graduated and I suddenly found myself with nothing to do. I was 86, I had no friends and the company of other sparklings bored me to death. Then I found out that the universities in Praxus and Simfur offered partnership programmes in software and mechanical engineering... I just had to sign up."

_Silence._

"You... graduated your first university when you were 86 vorns old?" Skywarp whispered, stunned.

He nodded.

"How?" Thundercracker asked, barely audible.

Starscream would give just about _anything_ to be somewhere far, far away, ideally in his lab in Iacon leaning over a microscope.

"I am a genius," he admitted in a voice laden with sadness.

"You say that as if it were a bad thing," Skywarp observed.

"It's a programming glitch."

"Surely not," the teleporter argued.

"Any deviation from the norm whose chances of occurrence are one in several millions is a glitch," he said matter-of-factly.

"But it's a good glitch!" Skywarp declared brightly.

"There are no good glitches and bad glitches, Skywarp. There are only glitches," the young Leader whispered, repeating the words that once crushed his spark. It still hurt, remembering his sire say that.

The sombre answer made the dark Wing drop his grin. "Then I am a glitch too," he said resolutely. "Teleportation is a deviation from the standard and the odds are one in thirty millions. I'mma glitch, right?"

"That... That is a _good glitch_," Starscream conceded, for the first time in his life admitting defeat with a smile.

"_See?_" the teleporter instantly brightened up.

They both looked at their remaining trinemate. Thundercracker shrugged and stood up, fluttering his wings to ask for attention.

"These two glitches are my trinemates," he said in a surprisingly good imitation of the priest who delivered the Trining speech. "But you know what? I wouldn't change them for _anything_. They may be glitches but they are _my_ glitches. Mine to protect and mine to love. And I am a glitch for liking them, so I guess that makes us even."

Starscream could only sit there, speechless for the second time that orn. He absently wondered why his spark suddenly felt too big for its casing.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Hey there, my precioussss readers! Yummy energon goodies for all of you and strontium flavoured chips to Guest117 for a lovely review_

* * *

"Give me a groon to pack my things in Iacon," Starscream asked. It didn't escape his future trinemates' attention that his energy field rippled with suppressed pain as he said it. They shared a quick glance and nodded inconspicuously.

"Why?" Thundercracker looked confused by the request. "Don't you have your research and your studies to finish?"

"You... you don't mind if I finish my research? It could take vorns." Starscream didn't even dare to hope.

"Nah, why should we mind?" Skywarp wondered. Evidently it was important to Star. "As long as you don't make _me_ study, genius trine leader of mine, I don't really care. I've always wanted to visit Iacon anyway, never been there."

"He's right, you know," the rainmaker noted, "why should you give up your career and move to Vos when we can move to Iacon with you?"

_Not real. This is definitely not real,_ the young scientist concluded. Starscream's creators always expected him to find himself a pair of trinemates, and 'get a real job worthy of a Seeker of his social status'. Roughly translated, it meant he was supposed to leave his 'useless studies', move back to Vos where they could watch over him and become a politician, diplomat or army officer. He had never even _dreamed_ that his trinemates wouldn't mind. The possibility just hadn't occurred to him at all... Suddenly he jumped on his pedes, flicked his wings in a _follow me_ motion and took off, transforming mid-jump.

As expected, they immediately followed, surprised by his unexpected stunt. Feeling playful, he let them chase him for a while, then abruptly stopped and transformed. They barely managed to brake and had to alter their course to avoid crashing into him. He grinned, contented.

"Starscream, what the slag?" the teleporter yelled as he transformed to his root mode.

"I knew you would pull it off," Starscream declared confidently.

"How can you be so sure!?" Thundercracker questioned, following the suit and transforming.

"Because you are my perfect match," he answered simply and took each of them by the wing. If his servos were shaking a bit it was only due to the damn strong wind currents. He took a few quick vents – to cool down, of course. _He wasn't nervous!_

"May Primus witness my words: I, _He who makes stars scream with envy_, hereby claim you as my Wings," his voice trembled only a little as he recited the ancient oath. "I solemnly swear that I shall always care for you and protect you at all costs. I shall fly with you, fight with you and die with you. You are my Trine." He resisted the urge to offline his optics as his processor suddenly filled with _what ifs. Was he making the right choice? What if he wasn't? This was for life, you know. Irrevocable decision. And what if they've changed their mind? Primus, what if they reject him now?_

The blue rainmaker repeated the gesture and put his servos on their wings. "I, _He whose thrusters sound like a crack of thunder_, accept your claim, trine leader Starscream, and claim both of you as my trinemates," his spark was singing with joy. "I solemnly swear that I shall always care for you and protect you at all costs. I shall fly with you, fight with you and die with you. You are my Trine."

For the first time in his life Skywarp understood the strange idiom '_cry with happiness_'. He felt like doing it right now. Nevertheless, he carefully redirected the static threatening to blur his vision, engaged a few subroutines to distract himself from the feeling and restarted his vocalizer. "I, _He who warps the sky_, accept your claim, trine leader Starscream, and claim both of you as my trinemates. I... I solemnly swear that I shall always care for you and protect you at all costs," slag it, his voice was breaking... "I shall fly with you, fight with you and die with you! You are my Trine." He completed the embrace and let his vision go white as he felt their newly formed tentative trinebond pulse with their shared joy. Two pairs of servos rubbed his wings soothingly, tracing them in patterns that meant _trine, wind, fly_ and _safe_.

* * *

Skyfire did not expect Starscream to be there when he entered the lab early that morning. The tricoloured jet was standing in front of the air separator, impatiently waiting for the cycle to finish. There was something strange about him, though Skyfire couldn't quite figure out what.

"Star? Welcome back. You were gone for longer than I expected."

"Hm?"

"How did the Trining go?"

"Better than expected. When was the last time this piece of junk got calibrated?"

"Ten vorns ago, I think." It seemed Star likely wasn't inclined to talk about the Hunt. He would have to pester him about details later.

"Have you seen the liquid strontium? I have been looking for the slagging thing for a joor!"

"It's right here," Skyfire reached up and took the container from the top of the cabinet, making Starscream growl in annoyance. He hated to be reminded of his height. "What do you need it for?"

"I want to synthesize durillium."

"You want to synthesize _what?_ Are you trying to blow us up?"

"I plan to use deuterium as an inhibitor," the younger scientist explained.

"Are you insane? Deuterium is highly unstable!" Skyfire didn't even notice how they slipped into an academic argument about thermic properties and chain reactions...

* * *

The changes in Starscream were so subtle you could easily miss them. It certainly took Skyfire a long time to notice them. It started as little things, like Star actually refuelling without Skyfire's prompting. Also, he went flying more regularly and didn't spend endless orns in the lab anymore. Even stranger, Star seemed to be constantly in a good mood. Sometimes he just smiled for no reason and he also appeared calmer. When a poor trainee accidentally bumped into the table causing several test tubes to fall down and break, much to Skyfire's shock Star only yelled at him to watch where he was going and to clean it up. Skyfire would have expected his friend to make sure the trainee was expelled from the university or something equally drastic but the young jet just let him go.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Thank you for staying with me until now. I love you all, reviewers and silent readers! This is (probably) the last round of free energon goodies for all, this time with my favourite copper and iron flavour._

* * *

"I thought you hate quicksilver flavour," Skyfire noted as Starscream subspaced a bag of energon chips.

"I do," the jet confirmed, "but Skywarp can't get enough of them."

"Skywarp?"

"My left Wing. Let's go back, my chain reaction is finishing in 0.7 breems," the Seeker demanded, impatient.

The larger flier followed his friend to the lab. He wanted to continue their conversation but Starscream sat down and hooked his feet behind the footrest – an unconscious gesture that meant he wanted to be left alone. Skyfire respected his wish.

It was a calm orn, one of those rare orns when everything goes well. Skyfire was preparing his A-42 compound; the violet liquid swirled in its flask waiting to be heated up. Suddenly the concentration of static in the room skyrocketed, the air _cracked_ and brushed over them, and in a flash of light a dark Seeker appeared in the middle of the lab. The flask fell from Skyfire's servos and shattered against the floor. Starscream, on the other hand, didn't even twitch, despite sitting with his back to the room. In two fast strides the intruder closed the distance between them and took Starscream by his wings. With a crack they were gone.

Skyfire's visual centre rebooted in shock as his processor replayed the scene. _What the pit just happened?!_

::_**Starscream!**_:: he yelled over the comm., worried sick about his friend.

To his relief, Star answered the call. ::_I'm fine, Skyfire._::

::_Where did he take you? I'm calling the enforcers!_::

::_Skyfire, don't! He's a friend!_::

::_Friends don't abduct each other without warning!_::

Starscream actually chuckled at that. ::_I made the mistake of mentioning I had a surprise for him. Unfortunately, Skywarp has patience of a sparkling on energon high. And the glitch's a teleporter._::

::_That was Skywarp?_::

::_Yes. Sorry he startled you. I'll introduce you to him and TC when we return._::

* * *

"What did I tell you about teleporting to my lab?"

"Err, not to do it?" Skywarp smiled sheepishly.

"And which part of that did you not understand? Now Skyfire thinks you abducted me and he's threatening to call the enforcers!"

"_But Staaar!_" the teleporter whined. "You promised to go flying with us! And- and you said you had a surprise for us!"

"Don't '_but Star_' me! Would it kill you to wait just a few more joors?"

The dark Seeker nodded emphatically, making Thundercracker chuckle at his antics. With a resigned twitch of his wings (and a carefully hidden grin) Starscream took off.

"Where are we going?" Thundercracker wondered as they flew over the flat roofs of Iacon. They didn't compare to Vosian spires. Then again, _nothing_ compared to Vosian spires.

"Western district," Starscream answered with a mysterious smile.

"And what's there?" Skywarp practically radiated curiosity.

"Your surprise."

"_Staaarscreeaaam!_"

"Wait and see."

It would have been a short flight but he took a detour to make it longer – despite Warp's impatience and pestering questions, Starscream really enjoyed flying in a trine. He led them towards a beautiful marble building and touched down in the middle of its spacious courtyard. An amused smile lit up his face as he watched his trinemates trying (and failing) to figure out what they were doing at the place like that.

"Come on," he headed inside.

The interior was full of sculptures. They were made of stone, metal, crystal... some of them were holographic and some even appeared to be made of materials imported from organic worlds; these were protected by forcefields.

"What is this place?" Thundercracker asked in awe.

"An art gallery."

"Wow," Skywarp commented absently, "I had no idea art galleries were so interesting! If I knew I wouldn't have objected to visitin' one..."

Starscream let them gawk, he knew how they felt.

A grey minibot emerged from somewhere and walked up towards them.

"You're Starscream, right?" he unsubspaced a datapad and handed it over. "Please note that while certain modifications are possible, an extra fee is applicable depending on the scope of adjustment. Change of colour is free of charge."

Starscream nodded as he accepted the datapad, his spark pounding in its casing.

"What is it? Star, what's it, what's it, _what's it?_"

He took a deep vent to cool his systems and turned to face his trinemates. "My surprise for you. Our trinemark."

Trinemarks were traditionally the responsibility of the Leader, unless one of the Wings was artistically inclined. Predictably, the most popular shape was triangle in any form; quite fashionable were triangles in a circle or circles inside a triangle. Stars were also acceptable, as long as they were six- or nine-pointed. But of course, trines were free to choose any design they wanted; whatever represented them.

For a scientist, Starscream was surprisingly traditional when it came to trinemarks. He wanted their designations in a simple triangle – and paid _pitload_ of credits to the mech who was considered the greatest living artist on Cybertron to design it. He hadn't seen it yet – he wanted to share this special moment with his trinemates. Now that he was holding the result in his servos, he was almost afraid to switch it on. He could feel their trinebond drumming with excitement. TC couldn't suppress the flutter of his wings; Warp was openly bouncing on his thrusters.

With a nervous flutter of his own wings Starscream onlined the datapad.

To say the trinemark was beautiful would be an understatement. The proper qualifier was _stunning_. It was a silver triangle formed by _Star, Sky_ and _Thunder_ written in calligraphic Seekercant glyphs intertwined with each other to symbolize unity. Simple yet elegant and beautiful enough to render all three of them speechless.

The minibot's smile was downright smug; he'd obviously expected their reaction. "I take it you like it. Normally Sunstreaker would apply them personally but he had to leave. You can either have Airbrush apply them now or wait ten orns until he returns."

Ignoring him, Thundercracker turned to look at his trine leader, incredulous. "Sunstreaker? You commissioned our trinemark from _Sunstreaker?_"

"Who?" Much to the minibot's consternation, Skywarp had no idea what his trinemate was fussing about.

"The mech who designed the Crystal Tower in Vos," Starscream replied simply.

"Oh. But that's the most beautiful building I've ever seen! _And you commissioned us a trinemark from that guy?!_ Star, that's..." the teleporter trailed off. He couldn't even begin to find words to describe how much he appreciated his Leader's effort.

::_That must have cost more than I earn in a century!_:: Thundercracker protested over the comm.

_It did,_ but Starscream wasn't going to tell him that.

::_Shut up, TC, you're worth it._:: To the minibot he said: "We'll have them applied now." _Before Warp bursts from excitement._

* * *

This time they entered the lab properly, through the door. The white shuttle was waiting for them.

"Alright. TC, Warp, this is my lab partner Skyfire. Skyfire, these are Thundercracker, my right Wing, and Skywarp, my left Wing," Starscream made the introductions with a pointed look at the teleporter.

"Uhm, hi! Sorry 'bout earlier!" Skywarp grinned brightly in a failed attempt at innocence.

"Ah, sure. No problem. Nice to meet Star's wingmates..." He trailed off when he saw their glares. "Err, what did I do?"

"_Wingmate_ in general refers to any mech flying with you in a formation; you don't even have to know him. _Wing_ is..." Thundercracker looked at Starscream helplessly.

_Slag it, why didn't Skyfire speak Seekercant?_ Starscream thought as he took over. "Think about your physical wings," he flexed them for emphasis. "They are an extension of your self. They are what keeps you in the air. Damage to your wings hurts more than any other injury. Losing them would effectively drive you insane within breems. If given a choice you would rather deactivate than live without them." As a flier Skyfire undoubtedly had to agree with that. "The same is true of Wings in a trine," Starscream indicated Skywarp and Thundercracker. "In a culture where trinebonds are often valued more than matebonds, degrading somebody's trine to mere _wingmates_ is a grave insult – for which you are forgiven because you've obviously had no clue."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... Wait, _trinemates?_ You didn't want trinemates!" Skyfire exclaimed, confused. He vividly remembered Star yelling that he didn't want to participate in the Trining. Belatedly the shuttle realised he probably should have muted his vocalizer...

The two Wings shot Starscream twin incredibly hurt looks.

"What?!"

"_Why?_"

The younger scientist glared at Skyfire before turning to face his trinemates and saying something soothing in Seekercant. Whatever it meant, it was obviously the right thing to say, if their relieved faces were anything to go by.

Later, when he was alone, Skyfire asked the computer to translate it. Yes, it was terribly rude of him but he couldn't help it. He _had to _know. The computer beeped and the words appeared on the screen translated into Standard. He blinked in surprise, only to smile fondly at the screen which displayed a simple line: _I only said it because I hadn't met the two of you at the time!_

* * *

_A/N: Some of you might have noticed that I rewrote the Trining a bit and completely removed two chapters - I feel much better about this story now. I know I said this would be the last chapter but I've been thinking of an epilogue..._


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